Elemterefiş: Superstitious Beliefs and Occult in the Ottoman Empire (1839 - 1923)

This book is about the social history of superstitious beliefs and especially magic and sorcery. I mainly tried to examine how superstitious beliefs and magic transformed the daily life of the Ottoman Empire into a world of superstitions in the nineteenth century. However, I had to go further back when I deepened my research into the origin of superstitious beliefs and magic seen in almost every period of the Ottoman Empire. I looked at polytheistic religions like shamanism, Animism, Manichaenism, Buddhism and Hinduism, which were the common religious beliefs of the former Turkish world. I included various other pagan religions and cultures underlying the past of the Ottoman geography over three continents as well as Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, the Sky God belief in Central Asia and finally Islam. .

In the Ottoman Empire, “professional” magicians were of the ulema class who were not reluctant to utilize religious knowledge for their personal interests. In fact, they began to live immorally; “amateur” magicians were composed of occult groups, a.k.a. pseudo-clergy. I followed magic and magicians included in the documents of the Prime Ministry Ottoman State Archives only as they were caught as a result of a complaint. Füsun and Efsun, daughters of Cinci Arif Hoca, and their story add local and authentic flavor to the points made in the book.


Satın Al

Künye

Kitabın Adı:

Elemterefiş: Superstitious Beliefs and Occult in the Ottoman Empire (1839 - 1923)

Yazan:

Nimet Elif Uluğ

Baskı tarihi

2016

Dizi Adı:

History - 139

Baskı Adedi:

100

Sayfa:

522

Ebat:

13,5 x 21

Kağıt:

Enzo 60gr.

Kapak:

Lom Tasarım Ofisi

Cilt/Kapak:

250 gr. Mat, Amerikan Bristol, 4 renk

ISBN/Barkod:

978-605-9022-60-6

 

İçindekiler

Road Map of the Study

CHAPTER I - SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS AND OCCULT BEFORE ISLAM

What is Magic?

Animism

Shamanism  

Prayer for Rainfall (Yağmur Duası)

Polytheism

Judaism

Christianity

CHAPTER II - SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS AND OCCULT IN THE PRE-OTTOMAN ISLAM

"Magic" in Islamic Literature  

The Concept of Satan in Islam

The Koran and the Djinn

Was Prophet Mohammed Subjected to Magic?

The Djinn in Hadiths

Magic in Islam: Does it exist or not?

Prayer and Incantation in Islam

Conclusion

CHAPTER III - SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS AND OCCULT IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (1299-1839)

Introduction

Anatolian or Rumelian Saints

Tradition of Menakıpname

Anatolian Evliya Tradition

The Byzantine Effect

Beliefs Brought from Central Asia

Thesis, Anti-thesis, Synthesis

Effect of Sufism

Conquest of İstanbul: From Seigniory to Empire  

Superstition and Magic in Public Religion Books  

Ottoman Books on Fortune-Telling and Occult  

Occult Language: muska, tılsım, hamayıl, havas, vefk...

Tılsım and Hamayil  

Figures and Symbols

Palace Magic: Talisman Shirts

Havass and Vefk

Vefk

Talisman Shirts and Magic in the Ottoman Palace  

Ottoman Sultans, Casting Magic and Having Magic Cast  

Conclusion

CHAPTER IV - SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS AND OCCULT IN THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY MODERN OTTOMAN SOCIETY (1839-1923)

Introduction

Ulema, Pseudo-Ulema

Sultan Abdülhamid II and Monopolization of Islam

Hüddamlı Hocas

Muska and Tılsım

Public Islam  

Modernization of the Shari'ah

Conclusion

CHAPTER V - MEDIA BEFORE MEDIA: SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS AND OCCULT IN  TANZİMAT NOVELS

Novels: An Overview of the Ottoman Society

Dualism Everywhere

Novels: As a Modernization Instrument

From Positivism to Modernism

Superstitious Beliefs and Magic in Tanzimat Era Novels  

Hace-i Evvel: Ahmet Mithat Efendi

A Writer against All Superstitions: Hüseyin Rahmi Gürpınar

Superstitious Beliefs in Ömer Seyfettin's Short Stories

Another Side ofHalide Edip Adıvar 

And the Others

Conclusion

CHAPTER VI - THE TALE OF FÜSÛN AND EFSÛN

Preamble

Well, I Cannot Make This Undone

"The Things We Live Through" v

The Mysterious Treasure Chest of My Father  

Writing Brings about More Writing  

I Utterly Repent Having Written It!

Epilog

CONCLUSION

APPENDICES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX